Uh Oh
by ThatsMe
Summary: Read it and see...Arnold finds out a horrible secret that's happening between Helga and her parents...Prologue, Chapters 1,2,3,4 are up!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer- I don't own Hey Arnold! *Don't sue me!*  
  
  
*~Prologue~*  
  
Arnold walked slowly up the steps of the Pataki house. Helga and himself were going to be doing a project for school together. He knocked on the door. "Come in!" came daft and drunk-sounding voice. Arnold turned the knob, and the door swung open into Helga's house. He walked over the threshold, and looked around. The first thing that he noticed was that there were lots of pictures of a blonde girl that he at first thought was Helga. But no, he realized, this must be Olga, Helga's older sister. In one family portrait, Helga's mom and dad, Miriam and Big Bob, had their arms around Olga, and they were both smiling at her. Arnold noticed that Helga was near the edge of the photo, looking at Bob, Miriam, and Olga with a scowl on her face. Helga was like that in ALL of the pictures. Arnold heard footsteps upstairs, and then he saw Helga coming down the stairs. She got to the bottom, and asked "How's it goin', Football Head?" as usual.  
"I'm fine, Helga, how are you?" Arnold asked, ignoring the football comment. He was used to it by now. Helga gestured up the stairs to her room. "We should start working on that stupid project now, shouldn't we?" she scoffed. The two started upstairs.  
***  
On the way upstairs, Arnold noticed even more pictures of Olga. There was an entire room upstairs devoted to Olga. It was full of her trophies, awards, and various other things. Miriam and Bob had even had her baby shoes bronzed, and they were mounted on the wall, on a plaque of shining mahogany wood. Arnold's eyes widened. He expected to find a room like this one for Helga's achievements, and baby shoes, perhaps even an old blanket. There was none.  
***  
When Arnold and Helga had finally gotten a good start on their project, it was time for dinner. The two went downstairs, and to Arnold's surprise, found Miriam on the couch, asleep. Helga paid no attention, she just walked into the kitchen. Arnold decided not to ask questions. Helga made two TV dinners, and they brought them back to her room. They ate in silence for several minutes. Then, Arnold asked," Is Olga coming for a visit anytime soon?" Helga scowled.  
"Yes. She's coming next week. Perfect, I-can-do-anything, pretty, smart Olga." Helga blinked. "What's it to you, Football-head?"  
"I just wondered. Where do your parents keep your awards, and your baby shoes? I noticed Olga has a room, so where's yours?" Arnold asked gently. He had to tread carefully, he wanted to avoid upsetting Helga. Something in her eyes flickered. Arnold swore he saw pain there. But only for a split second. "Umm, well, my awards and stuff, they got really bad water damage from a flood, and uh, my baby stuff, it uh, was burned up in a fire." Arnold nodded. He didn't quite believe her, though.  
***  
"Olga! Get your scrawny little patoot down here, now!" Big Bob yelled, 10 minutes later. Helga and Arnold both went downstairs. "Hello Alfred," Bob said. Arnold didn't even bother to correct him.   
"What did you want, Bob?" Helga asked, her voice hard.  
"Your mother is asleep, and I'm hungry. You have to fix me something to eat. Now," he responded, harshly. Helga grumbled, but she went to the freezer, and pulled out a TV dinner. She thrust it into the microwave, and glared at Bob.  
"Excuse me young lady!" Bob roared, and slapped Helga in the face. Helga didn't respond, she just stood there. Red marks started forming on her cheek. The microwave beeped, and Helga robotically moved to get it. She opened it, and thrust the TV dinner at Bob. He took it, and tore off the plastic wrapping. "Get me a fork," he said, loudly. Helga got him a fork.  
***  
Later that night, Arnold couldn't stop thinking about what had happened between Bob and Helga. How was it possible? The next day at school, Helga had a bruise on her cheek, plus bruises on her arms, and neck. People asked her what happened, and she always told them that she had fallen down the stairs the night before. Helga ran into Arnold at lunch, and he motioned for her to sit down.  
"Is there something going on with your father, or did you really fall down the stairs?" Arnold asked.  
"I...I..." Arnold saw the hurt in Helga's eyes. "I..I fell down the stairs, okay, Arnoldo?" With that, she got up, and walked out the door.  
***  
That night, when Arnold got home, he grabbed the cordless phone, and brought it up to his room. He dialed Helga's number.   
"Hello!" Bob answered, practically roaring into the phone.  
"Hi, is Helga there?"  
"Oh, Olga? Yeah, sure. OLGA! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" he screamed. Arnold could hear footsteps running down the stairs.   
"It's HELGA, Bob." She picked up the phone. "Hello?" she asked.  
"Hi, how are you? This is Arnold." There was a sound like she dropped the phone. Arnold could hear a distant voice. "OLGA would have never been such a klutz! You're such an idiot! I'm ASHAMED to have a daughter like you! You can't even get me a TV dinner without being all snotty!"  
"I don't care what Olga would have done! I'm Helga, dad, and I'm trying to have a telephone conversation!" Helga picked up the phone. "Arnold? I'm sorry," she said. "It's o-"  
"BOB! GET OUT OF HERE! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?! PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" There was silence, then a sharp sound that Arnold couldn't distinguish. He heard soft crying sounds, and then there was a click. Someone had hung up the phone. Arnold put the phone back in the cradle. 'Oh God' he thought. Then, he grabbed the phone book, and dialed another number. There was a click as the person on the other end picked up.  
"Hello, Child Social Services, this is Sharon, how may I help you?"  
***  



	2. Oh no

Disclaimer- I don't own anything.  
  
  
Author's note- Sorry, this is gonna be short. Sorry it took so long, I was in St. Louis, and didn't have access to the internet! The horror!  
  
  
  
  
At school on Monday, Helga walked up to Arnold. He expected her to say something cruel, and cold-hearted. He was surprised. She said nothing. She just looked at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and Arnold noticed that the bruise on her cheek had turned an ugly yellow color.   
  
It was misting out, and Helga looked like a stray cat. She was horrible-looking. Her dress had a tear at the hem, she hadn't combed her hair, and her bow was crooked. Helga shook her head at Arnold and walked into P.S. 118. Arnold knew that she and her parents knew that he had called the CSS, and that they were probably mad, but he didn't regret it. No one should have to go through what Helga was going through.  
  
After school, Arnold walked up to Helga.  
"We need to work on our project...do you want me to come to your house, or do you want to come to mine?" he asked. Helga looked at him. "I'll finish the project, Arnold. You don't need to worry about it," she said, her voice scratchy, and sounding tired. "That's okay, Helga, I want to help," Arnold replied. "I can handle it," Helga responded.  
"Are you sure? Because I could come and help you, you know, it's not a problem-" Arnold began.  
"Arnold! You've already tried to help me, and look how that turned out! Please, just butt out! I said that I could do the frigging project by myself! I don't need your help anymore!" With that, Helga was running off into the rain. Arnold stared after her.  
***  
  
That night, Helga dialed Arnold's number, and sat on her bed with the phone. "Hello?" Phil, Arnold's grandpa answered.  
"Hi, is uh, is Arnold home?" Helga asked.  
"Yes, just a minute. I'm in the office." There was a pause. "ARNOLD!! PHONE FOR YOU, ARNOLD!!!" Arnold picked up the phone. "Okay, grandpa, you can hang up now." There was a click. "Hello?" Arnold asked. "A- Arnold? This is Helga..."  
"Hi, Helga...What's up?"  
"Arnold, I just called to...to say...well, Arnold, I called to say good-bye."  
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I told you it would be short!! I'll write more later!  



	3. Where's Helga going?

Disclaimer- I don't own Hey Arnold!  
  
  
A/N- Hey, all you wonderful reviewers out there (I feel like I'm on a radio show!), thanks for the great reviews that you've been leaving me! Makes me feel all warm and snuggly inside!! : hehe Keep reading, and keep reviewing! Thanks!  
  
  
  
Arnold heard a click as Helga hung up. What was that all about? Arnold wondered.  
  
*~Pataki house~*   
  
"All that I'm saying is that-"  
"Miriam! I know what I'm doing! Olga, I mean, Helga is a snotty little girl, who needs to be disciplined!"  
"But, Bob, don't you think that you maybe discipline her too hard sometimes?"  
"NO! Miriam! Dammit! We never would have had this problem with Olga!"  
"She's not Olga, Bob! That's the problem!"  
Helga sat at the top of the stairs listening. All of her things were packed. A caseworker from the social services had already been to her house. She had examined Helga's home life for half a day. She wrote things down on a clipboard. She examined Olga's room, and wrote bunches of notes on her clipboard. Though Bob didn't hit her while the caseworker was there, he still ignored her. Miriam just sat, and had Helga make her a martini every once in a while.  
Now Helga was leaving her home in the city. She would no longer be going to PS 118. She was going to live on a farm, and be home-schooled. Foster parents. Helga hated those words. She hated Arnold for ripping her away from everything she knew best. But, in a small part of herself, she thanked him.  
  
"Grandpa! I'm going out! I'll be back in a little bit!" Arnold hurried out onto the street. He hurried towards Helga's house.  
  
  
A/N- sorry, this is even shorter, but I'm experiencing a little bit of a writer's block...I'll try to write even more this afternoon. Thanks for bearing with me!  
*~Me~*  



	4. I'm sorry

Disclaimer- Okay, Hey Arnold does not belong to me! We all know the drill by now, right? :)  
  
  
A/N- I'll try to make this longer, okay? And tell me if I'm slacking a bit, cuz if I don't know what you think, than I can't change it, right? :)  
  
Arnold walked up to the door. He knocked. Bob came to the door. "What do YOU want, Aurthur?" he asked, coldly. "I wanted to see Helga," Arnold replied.  
"She's upstairs packing. No visitors." With that, Big Bob shut the door. Arnold blinked. "Okay...I'lll just go to her window," he thought. He walked around to the other side of the house. He threw small pebbles at her window, so he could get her attention. Her window opened.  
"Whaddya want- I mean, Arnold, what are you doing?" she asked.  
"Helga! Come down here and talk to me!" he whispered loudly. Helga rolled her eyes, and sighed. She opened the window farther, and stepped onto the fire escape. She went quietly down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, Arnold was waiting.  
"What?" she asked. He looked at her. She had combed her hair, but her bow was still crooked, and her eyes were red-rimmed still. "Helga, where are you going? Your dad said you were packing."  
"I'm leaving the city, Arnoldo. I'm going to a farm, where some freaky old people are going to 'take care of me'. They think I'm 'just adorable'. Arnold, why did you do this to me? To my family?"  
"Helga, I-" he started.  
"You what, Football-Head?"  
"I didn't think they would make you leave. I just thought maybe they would send your dad and your mom to counseling or something...I'm sorry..." he finished.  
"Yeah, well, Arnold, I have to live with this for the rest of my life. I don't want to leave. I don't want to be home-schooled. This is where my home is. I don't want to leave the city, my friends, heck, my LIFE!" she said. Arnold was startled to see that her eyes had gotten misty.  
"Helga, I don't know what to say...I didn't mean to ruin your life or anything, I wanted to make things better for you. I felt bad..."he said. Her head snapped up. If there ever was any, all the sensitivity and vulnerability had vanished from her face. "You felt bad? I don't need people feeling sorry for me, Arnold. People are going to feel sorry for me for the rest of my childhood, because I'm a foster child, and aid kid. I'm telling you, Arnold, I don't need it. I'm not going to sit back and let people feel bad for me, just because some stupid kid who thought he knew me ruined my life!" Helga ranted.  
"That's not what I meant! I don't feel SORRY for you...I just don't think that anyone should have to go through what you had to. You might have emotional scars from the abuse you were taking, if not physical ones too."  
"Doi! That's why I was going to see Dr. Bliss!"  
"She wasn't really helping, though, was she, Helga?" Arnold asked her.  
"Well of course she was! That's her job!" Helga retorted.  
"Look, Helga, I was just trying to help you out some. I wasn't trying to mess up your life or anything. Okay? I said, and I mean, that I'm sorry."  
"Yeah, sure, and I'm the queen of England."  
"Your majesty?"  
"Look, Arnold, I have to finish packing, alright?"  
"Yeah, okay. When do you leave?" Arnold asked.   
"Tomorrow night," Helga replied.  
"Okay...Helga, I'm gonna-" Arnold began.  
"Oh, God, Arnold, please don't start," Helga said, her voice sounding choked.  
"Helga, please don't, I'm sorry," Arnold said. A small tear ran down Helga's cheek. She quickly wiped it away. "Yeah...see ya in the funny papers, Arnoldo..." Helga whispered.  



	5. Leaving

Disclaimer- Don't own nuffen, 'specially Hey Arnold. But you already knew that, didn't you? But, actually, you know what? I own the plot! Yay!!! *does a happy happy joy joy dance*  
  
  
A/N- The address that I used- Please do not try mailing anything there, because it'll just be a waste of a perfectly good postage stamp. I doubt it is real, but if by some freaky incident it *was* real, I don't want people getting mail from people they don't know. I just made it up, any similarity was totally fictitious, and unintentional. BTW, thank you nuh-uh for informing me that Arnold lives on Vine Street! Enough legal mumbo-jumbo, read the fic, dude (or dudette)!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Arnold trudged home. He hadn't meant to upset Helga. He didn't think that the caseworker would make Helga leave her home. He didn't know how far away Helga was moving, or for how long. All he knew was that it was a farm. There usually aren't many farms in a city. He guessed she was moving to a different part of the state. His throat choked up some, and he was surprised. This was Helga Pataki, his lifelong tormentor, not his best friend. But still, he had known her since pre-school. That had to have SOME significance, didn't it? Arnold sighed, and continued walking.  
  
  
  
*Helga's room*  
  
  
  
Helga looked around her room to see if she got the things that she would need. She couldn't bring everything, of course, but she needed to bring some certain things. She brought the school yearbook from that year, so she wouldn't forget anyone. On an impulse, she opened it. She flipped through the pages until the 4th graders page. Mr. Simmons' class. Mr. Simmons. What a sap. But, she admitted to herself, she would miss him. Just as she would miss all of the others. Curly, Sid, Stinky, Harold, Pheobe, Gerald, Eugene, Arnold. These were the people that made her life what it was. Curly was insane, but he was a nice enough kid, and Sid, he didn't seem to like her much, but he had never been downright nasty to her, Stinky was a country boy that lived in the city, and he hadn't been completely mean to her either. Harold was your typical fat boy. She would miss making fun of him. They always threw their fair share of insults at each other, but nothing really hurtful. Pheobe was her best friend. No matter where Helga was, Pheobe would always be there. Gerald (A.K.A. Tall Hair Boy) never really liked Helga much, but that didn't bother her. He was okay, really, once you got past the fake "coolness" that he put up. Helga knew that Pheobe had a secret crush on him, and she suspected that Gerald felt the same way about Pheobe. Eugene was a jinx. Once he had even tried telling Arnold that Arnold himself was a jinx. He wore socks with his sandals. Who on Earth, Helga wondered, wore socks with thong sandals? Arnold. What was there to say about Arnold? He was a typical nice guy, and he was friends with just about everybody. She would miss him a lot. She had told one person about her secret crush on Arnold. She had only told Pheobe. She ran her fingers over Arnold's picture. She lifted a hand to her face, and discovered her cheek was wet. She closed the yearbook.  
  
***  
  
The next day at school, Arnold walked up to Helga. "Helga? You leave tonight, right? How are you feeling?" he asked. Helga turned around. She looked better today. "Hey Arnold. Yeah, I leave tonight. I'm okay." Helga had told only one person besides Arnold that she was going into foster care. There was only one other person that deserved to know. Pheobe lowered her head at the mention of Helga's leaving. "Helga, can I talk to you for a minute?" Arnold asked.   
"Sure, Foot- I mean, Arnold." She followed him to a corner of the school. "Helga, do you know the address of where you're going?" he asked.  
"No, I don't know it, Arnold. Sorry. Why do you want to know?" she replied. "I wanted to write to you. I can give you my address, and you can write to me once you get there. I mean, if you want to." Arnold said.  
"Maybe I'll do that," Helga replied. Just then the bell rang. All the kids rushed into the P.S.118 school building. Helga sighed. Her last day here. Usually she wasn't sappy about things like this, but she didn't know if she'd ever see it, or any of the people here, ever again.  
***  
In homeroom, Arnold passed her a slip of paper. It had his address on it. The ink was smudged over his last name, and she couldn't read it.  
It read: Arnold   
Sunset Arms Boarding House  
120 Vine Street  
New York, NY  
55555  
  
She looked up at him, and smiled. She passed him a slip of paper: Football Head,  
Thanks. I'll write to you, but you have to write me back!  
He sent her one back.  
Helga, you're welcome. I'll definitely will write back to you!  
***  
That night, just before Helga was getting ready to leave, there was a knock on the door. She ran down the stairs and opened it, expecting to find her caseworker, Megan. Instead of Megan, Arnold and Pheobe were standing there. Helga almost slammed the door in their faces, she was so surprised. She ushered them inside.  
"Why are you guys here?" she asked.  
"We wanted to see you before you left," Pheobe replied.  
" Oh, well, you didn't have to do that, you know." Helga responded, inviting them to sit on the couch.  
"Yes we did, Helga. We'd never forgive ourselves if we didn't." Arnold said, in all sincerity. Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Helga jumped up, her stomach churning. She went to answer the door. When she opened it, there was a pretty woman with red hair standing there. She was wearing a black business suit. Helga introduced her as her caseworker, Megan. Arnold and Pheobe both said hello. Megan smiled warmly.  
"I'm here to pick up Helga, and bring her to her new home. Are your parents home, Helga?"  
"It's not my 'new home'. I'm just going to live there for a little while. BOB, MIRIAM! MEGAN'S HERE! I'M LEAVING NOW! GOODBYE!"  
"Of course, Helga. Only for a little while. Aren't you going to wait for a few moments until your parents come into the living room to say goodbye?"  
"No. They don't really care, and neither do I." Helga retorted. She turned to Pheobe. "Pheobe, tell everyone at school that I'll be back real soon, okay? I'll see you later, okay? I'll write to you all the time, okay? Pheobe, please don't cry. Please," Helga said, her eyes misty. "Pheobe, I'll call you, and you can tell me what's going on at school, okay?" Pheobe nodded, tears running down her cheeks. Helga dropped her bags and hugged Pheobe. "It'll be alright. I'm not that far away. Maybe I can even come to visit you!" Helga said, looking at Megan. Megan shrugged.  
"We'll see, Helga," she said.  
"See? Everything's going to be okay. Don't cry." Helga let go of Pheobe, and turned to Arnold. "Hey, Football-Head," she said, smiling at him. He smiled back. "Take care of Pheobe for me, okay?" she asked. Arnold nodded. "It's been fun. I'll write to you too, all right? If you don't write back, I'll pound ya!" Arnold laughed.   
"We have to go now, Helga. Do you have everything?" Megan asked. Helga nodded, and turned away.  
"Helga!" Arnold said. She turned around, and Arnold hugged her. She stood there for a second, but then hugged him back.   
"See ya around, Arnoldo," she whispered into his ear. She let go, and walked out the door, followed by Pheobe and Megan. Arnold also followed. Helga loaded her stuff into the trunk of Megan's green Lexus. She waved goodbye, and climbed into the car. Arnold was surprised to see tears rolling down Helga's face. He waved back. The car's engine started, and Helga turned around in her seat, and waved goodbye to Pheobe and Arnold. Pheobe started to sob, and Arnold felt his throat close, and his vision got blurry. They waved until they could no longer see Megan's car. Arnold saw that neither Miriam, nor Big Bob had come to see their daughter off. Pheobe was still sobbing uncontrollably, and Arnold decided to walk her home. After dropping her off at her house, Arnold walked to the boarding house, and let himself in. He trudged up the stairs, and pulled the string that would let him into his attic room. He walked up the stairs, and pulled the trapdoor back up. He walked into his room, and slammed the door. He opened it again, and he slammed it harder, angry hot tears running down his face. He threw himself onto his bed, and stared out the skylights at the stars. He flipped onto his stomach, and pounded his pillow. When his grandpa came in an hour later, Arnold pretended to be sleeping. Phil sighed, and left.  
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There. Chapter 5 for yas! Hope you like it! I know some parts might have been a little OOC, but I tried my best. I feel good. That was the longest chapter so far! Hooray!! Please review if you want more, cuz they give me motivation, and they make me happy. Thanks! And give me some suggestions on maybe what you might like to see in the future chapters, maybe even a *gasp* ~sequel~?  



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